Aon lures Willis client in order to secure global food account

Aon has wrestled a “top-five account” off Willis in the Midlands after winning the contract for a global food company.

Market sources said Aon had won the Boparan Holdings account, though Willis refused to comment.

Boparan is the holding company for 2 Sisters Food Group, which has annual sales exceeding £650m and employs 5,000 staff globally. It has 13 manufacturing sites in the UK, one in Holland and one in the US.

The West Midlands company was established in 1993 and evolved from a small-scale frozen food manufacturer to a worldwide food distributor.

Aon’s broking director for the central region, Mark Crawford, led the battle to win the account, which changed hands earlier this summer.

An Aon spokesman said: “Mark is part of the Aon team that will be managing Boparan Holdings’ insurance programme and providing strategic advice on risk matters for the privately owned food business that serves the retail, food service and manufacturing sectors with raw and prepared chicken products.”

A 2 Sisters Food Group spokesman confirmed the company was looking forward to working with Aon.

In April, Willis reported 19% growth in commissions for its first quarter global results for this year.

While net income from continuing operations increased from $166m to $199m.

Global chief executive Joe Plumeri said that the company continued to deliver “solid financial results in the face of global and economic headwinds”.